Kevin Warsh’s first Fed meeting sees rates hold steady and makes outright promise to deliver price stability—but don’t expect many details on when

In his first appearance as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh confirmed this afternoon the base rate will hold at its current level of 3.5% to 3.75%. Taking over the title from Jerome Powell—who stays on at the Fed as a governor—Warsh said: “Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace, despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East. Productivity growth and capital investment [are] both strong. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed a little.” On inflation—a political lightning rod at present given pressures around affordability—Warsh was clear: “Persistently high prices are a burden for the American people. But the recent past need not be prologue. I am pleased to report that members of the FOMC are unambiguous and unanimous. “This committee will deliver price stability.” The June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has been one of the most hotly anticipated gatherings at the central bank for many years. Paramount in the furor is the question of Federal Reserve independence: In the final months of Powell’s tenure, President Donald Trump and the White House took unprecedented action (from legal cases against Powell and fellow Governor Lisa Cook, to a barrage of insults, to threats of firing the chairman) in their campaign for lower rates. Warsh—who secured the president’s nomination amid the onslaught by politicians against the legally mandated independent central bank—is therefore subject to heavy scrutiny as to whether he will prove to be a sock puppet of the Oval Office. Powell staying on as a governor has only highlighted the issue further, with the embattled former chairman saying he wouldn’t leave the institution until the Department of Justice investigation into his testimony about renovation projects at the Fed had been settled. Powell, now a symbol of Fed autonomy, staying on has been seen by many analy